A $2.50 T-shirt doesn’t belong on the runway

In their black uniforms, Melbourne’s designers are cool enough to justify the city’s claim to be Australia’s fashion capital but a heart-print T-shirt from Kmart threatens the premier position.

For 27 years the Melbourne Fashion Festival has celebrated the creative work of designers such as Toni Maticevski, Strateas Carlucci and Carla Zampatti. Now Kmart has joined the runway program of the festival, held at the Royal Exhibition Building from March 3, and it’s an uncomfortable fit.

A $2.50 Kmart design and models Jay Coolahan (wearing Reigner) and Clare Walker (wearing Paul McCann) at the Melbourne Fashion Festival program launch.

As a last-minute event partner, Kmart will stage a free runway show dedicated to its own women’s, mens and children’s clothing ranges on the same day as the festival’s Conscious Fashion Market.

“Kmart innovates the shopping experience, delighting customers with its famously low prices, and has become a destination for Australian families to access affordable everyday products, including the latest in fashion trends,” Kmart group managing director Ian Bailey said in the official announcement.

The addition of the fast fashion retailer to the festival line-up is on the contoured nose for more than its famously low prices, with a heart print T-shirt costing less than an espresso at $2.50.

Fast fashion’s focus on consumption rather than creativity makes Kmart’s festival debut like McDonald’s joining the Melbourne Food & Wine Festival or elevator music headlining Splendour In The Grass.

Very few people can afford clothes from Chanel, Dior or Gucci but their runway shows are inspiring showcases of craftsmanship, a designer’s vision and exquisite materials, rather than budget basics. At MFF, a similarly filtered approach can be taken with the work of Australian designers Anna Quan, Bianca Spender and Lee Mathews.

By celebrating Kmart on the festival runway we are lurching into reverse, instead of taking our inspiration from the top and seeking affordable alternatives.

Festival chief executive Caroline Ralphsmith described the partnership as a win for the masses in the press release: “PayPal Melbourne Fashion Festival loves promoting our Australian designers in our premium runways and throughout the fashion culture program and we also facilitate the democratisation of fashion to ensure that it is accessible to all consumers.”

It is also the role of festivals to be at the forefront of trends in fashion, as seen by the success of last month’s Copenhagen Fashion Festival. The Danish capital, with a population more than an eighth of the size of Melbourne has become an industry leader and international heavyweight by focusing on sustainability, diversity and creativity.

Headlining a fast fashion brand at MFF is a dramatic shift in focus from those international trends.

Kmart has made admirable progress towards greater transparency of its raw material supplies and use of sustainable fabrics thanks to its Better Cotton program, scoring well on an ethical fashion report published by Baptist World Aid last year. But that $2.50 T-shirt still comes with the website warning: “This product is sourced via a mass balance system and therefore may not contain Better Cotton.”

Fast fashion brands overall contribute to estimates by the United Nation Environment Program that people are buying 60 per cent more clothes and wearing them for half as long.

Nicole Trunfio on the MFF runway for Jean Paul Gaultier for Target in 2016.Credit: Lucas Dawson

The festival has partnered with fast fashion brands in the past, with Dannii Minogue, Jessica Mauboy and Sonia Kruger taking to the runway in 2016 for Target. At that time Target had a reputation for collaborating with Australian design talent such as Dion Lee and Josh Goot, along with international brands like Stella McCartney and Missoni, earning the store the nickname ‘Tarjay’.

The 2016 show celebrated a partnership with Jean Paul Gaultier but Kmart has no history of collaborating with influential Australian design talent – and no cool nickname.

As part of the festival deal, Kmart will also sponsor the festival’s Fashion Business Lunch, the only clothing brand represented at the event. In the past, the festival’s business seminar has hosted the former creative director of Calvin Klein, billionaire founder of Diesel jeans and body activist Ashley Graham.

Fast fashion is an easy way to copy trends and dress growing children, without breaking the budget but that doesn’t mean it should be on the runway. Don’t be surprised if you see me shopping at Kmart for sport socks, but I won’t be mistaking their next catalogue for the latest issue of Vogue.

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